Can I wear a matching tracksuit in 2024?

A reader wonders if the Y2K-era staple is grating — or if it's about to return.< /p>When is it appropriate (is it ever appropriate? ) to wear a completely matching tracksuit, top and bottom? When I see people wearing a sweatshirt and sweatpants, I sometimes think “cringe.” And sometimes I can't help but want to wear it too. Which side of me is right? — Pepper, New York

Karl Lagerfeld, the Chanel designer whose talent for dramatic statements was matched only by his talent for imagining extraordinary clothes, once said that sweatpants were “a sign of defeat.” /p>

This statement would suggest that the complete sweatpants and sweatshirt look is otherwise known as a tracksuit, this association informs formerly synonymous with older gym teachers, deformed joggers and Rocky Balboa are…well, what? A sign of complete and total abandonment?

Perhaps. Or maybe, given that it's fashion and in fashion nothing is more certain than what was out will be in again, it's the embodiment of an ironically triumphant return.

In truth, the tracksuit, or daytime pajamas, is making a comeback since the coronavirus pandemic. This period, where we valued comfort above all else, converged with Gen Alpha's celebration of all things Y2K, including that era-defining item, the Juicy Couture velor tracksuit. This discovery has been exacerbated by the resurgence of the Miu Miu-led "set", whether it's Miuccia Prada's matching crop top and mini skirt, Versace's shortie pajamas or, yes, matching sweatpants and sweatshirt from yesteryear.

Demna, Balenciaga's mononymous designer known for reframing the totems of streetwear into luxury, took on this idea, adopting not only an iconic oversized hoodie but also the tracksuit, via its Balenciaga collaboration with Adidas in 2022. Certainly, this was a sleeker, more globalized version of the sweatshirt, and with its own cultural semiology thanks to hip-hop. Last month, he went further and paid homage to the Juicy tracksuit during his fall 2024 show, curated and inspired by Los Angeles.

Unsurprisingly, TikTok has embraced the trend, with influencers of all kinds discovering the joy of sweatshirts – they don't exactly call them that; we’ll talk more about that in a moment – ​​especially as a solution to anything airport related. Or to look more put together than, say, wearing drawstring flannel pajamas and a T-shirt when you're out in public.

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